Indoor fireworks from Sofia Kenin at ASB Classic, but Sloane Stephens loses

When Sofia Kenin won the Australian Open in 2020 she played in front of around 15,000 spectators at Rod Laver Arena and when Sloane Stephens triumphed at the US Open in 2017 there were 23,700 people there to see her.

But when Kenin defeated Wang Xinyu 7-6 6-3 and Stephens lost to Rebeka Masarova at ASB Classic on Wednesday, there wasn’t even a dozen people watching either match, thanks to this blasted Auckland summer.

“Unfortunately we had to go indoors, but it was less windy, so that’s a problem I didn’t need to worry about,” Kenin said.

“But the courts felt really fast, especially with who I played. She’s not an easy opponent and after the match I told my dad, I don’t know what’s better, to play indoors or outdoors against her, because she’s a really tough player.

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“But I’m happy to get the win, in the conditions it wasn’t easy, so I had to adjust pretty fast and I’m happy I was able to do it.”

The return of the Classic after a three-year absence has been dreadfully disappointing, with rain heavily impacting the first three days of the tournament.

With more bad weather predicted, Kenin was forced to play her Chinese opponent on an indoor court at the ASB Tennis Arena, while hundreds of spectators sat in their seats bored and oblivious to what was going on metres away from them.

The plan was to complete all the remaining first round draws on the two indoor courts at the tennis facility and start the second round outside from 2pm, with the match between Leylah Fernandez from Canada and Austria’s Julia Grabher.

All seemed to be going according to plan and the last of the preparations were being made on Centre Court, but just before 2pm another shower swept across Auckland, further testing the patience of anyone with an interest in this tournament.

Not that Kenin and Wang were any the wiser about what was happening outside, as they battled away in what turned out to be an entertaining match.

The first set was tight, without any breaks of serve, but the match came to life in the tiebreak.

Wang went up 5-0 and it appeared as if the set was hers. When Kenin won the next couple of points, it looked like she was just delaying the inevitable.

But the points kept going Kenin’s way, until it was 5-4. Wang won the next point, for a couple of set points, but again Kenin got on a roll and eventually took the set from what seemed an impossible position.

“Being down 5-0 is not the ideal situation to start off a tiebreaker, but anything can happen,” Kenin said.

“When it was 5-3, I thought maybe I have a chance, but I tried not to overthink it, because you start missing.

“It’s easier to play when you’re down I guess, because you feel free and when it gets closer you feel tight.

“But I managed to save two set points, so I’m happy it was clutch tennis.”

Kenin got out to a 3-0 lead at the beginning of the second set and she never let that advantage slip.

Kenin is down at 227 in the world rankings and needed a wildcard to play at the Classic.

She is a long way down from her career high of No 4, but is battling back from injury and a terrible start to last year, where she didn’t win a match between January and August.

The Moscow born American feels more time she’s able to spend on court, the better she’ll be.

“For me, it’s a matter of matches,” she said.

“Once I play matches my game will be better. Of course, moving, serving, getting the confidence and playing the game I want to play.

“Even today, a few times I felt like I wasn’t 100%, but I had to somehow fight through it, you’re not always going to feel 100%.”

For Stephens, she was naturally disappointed to lose a tight match, but felt she played well.

“I thought I played some good points, I thought I played well in some moments,” Stephens said.

“Obviously, I wish I could have played better and done some things differently, but overall I’m upset but not devastated. It’s the first tournament of year, so I have to be realistic and just know there’s stuff to build on.

The Classic is a warm up tournament for the Australian Open, so playing just one match, indoors, isn’t ideal preparation for Stephens.

“It’s a bit of adversity but I think I’ll be fine,” she said.

“I’m going to try to play in Hobart next week, so I’m looking forward to that.

“The main thing is to get matches and feel comfortable and confident on the court again, just get used to playing.”